Apparatus for roasting ores.



UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEicE.

GOTTWERTH L. TANZEB, or SEATTLE, WASHINGTON.

APPARATUS FOR ROASTING GRES.

Application filed March 25, 1915.

To all 'whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, GoTTwERTI-r L. TAN- ZER, citizen of the United States, residing at Seattle, in the county of King and State of Iashington, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Apparatus for Roasting Ores, of which the following is a specication.

My invention relates to improvements in apparatus for roasting ores preparatory to further treating such ores in the operation of extracting the metals vcontained therein, and the object of my invention is to provide a retort and mechanism associated therewith which shall be adapted to subject ore disposed within such retort to a required degree of heat produced by electricity or by the heat of a fuel burning furnace, or by the combined heat derived from both of such agents, and which shall be adapted to agitate such ore during the operation' of roasting it and at the `same time to cause the resultant gases to flow back and forth through the interstices of the mass of ore within the retort, thus more rapidly to effect the desired chemical changes in such ore.

I attain these objects by devices illus* trated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a view in vertical mid-section on broken line y, y, of Fig. 2, of an ore roaster embodying my invention, and Fig. 2 is a plan view of parts of the same, other parts thereof being shown in horizontal section on broken line fr, of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, throughout which like reference numerals indicate like parts, 3 indicates a furnace of refractory material provided with a door 4:, a iregrate 5 and with circular openings extending through each of its kopposite side walls 6 and 7, respectively, and within the furnace 3 is a retort of the form of a hollow cylinder having a cylindrical wall 8 and end walls 9 and 10, to each of which end walls 9 and 10 is secured a hollow shaft, as shafts 11 and 12, respectively, which shafts 11 and 12 are rotatably disposed in bearings 13 and 14, respectively, which bearings 13 and 14 are supported respectively by bracketsV 15 and 16 and when thus disposed the retort is concentric with the openings in the end walls 6 and 7 of the furnace with its ends flush with the exterior surface of said end walls 6 and 7, said retort being of such Specification of Letters Patent. y

Patented May 22, 1917.

Serial No. 16,873.

diameter as will permit its rotation without engaging with the furnace walls.

At a central point between the ends of the retort is a doorway 17 extending through the cylindrical wall 8, which doorway 17 is adapted to be closed securely by -a door 18, through which doorway 17 ore may be introduced to the interior of the retort.

Secured to each of three brackets 19 which project inwardly from the inner side of the inner surface of the cylindrical wall 8 at equi-distant points thereof, as more clearly shown in Fig. 1, is an iron tube 20 whose end portions project through the end walls 9 and 10 of the retort and whose said end portions are provided with removable caps 21 and 22 respectively, and within each of said iron tubes 20 is disposed an electric conducting wire 23 in the form of a helix, which wire 23 is embedded within and insulated by a mass of refractory material, as ire-clay or magnesia, and which wire 23 is composed of a metal having a high resistance and adapted to withstand I high temperatures, whereby a current of electricity may heat such wire 23 to communicate a high temperature to said tube 20, which heated tube 20 may impart heat to ore with which it engages, as ore is agitated and rumbled by rotation of the retort.

tors 30 and 31 connected .with a source of electric current, not shown, may communr cate electric `current to said brushes 26 and 27, respectively, to which said conductors 30 and 31 are connected whereby all of the wires 23 within the tubes 20 may be charged with electricity to heat them notwithstanding a rotary movement of the retort.

Fixed on the shaft 11, adjacent to the outer side of the bearing 13, is a pulley 32 upon which is disposed a belt 33 that extends to and engages with a pulley 34: that is fixed on a driving shaft 35, whereby rotary motion may be communicated from the driving shaft 35 to the retort.

Connected with the end of the hollow shaft 11 by a. packed airtight union 36 is a pipe 37, said union 36 being adapted to permit the rotation of said shaft ll without permitting air or gases, under pressure, to escape from Athe interior of said shaft ll and said pipe 37; and on the end of the hollow shaft l2 is another similarly adapted union 38 to which is connected a pipe 39.

The pipe 37 extends from the union 36 to connect with one end of a hollowT cylinder 40, while the pipe 39 extends from the union 38 to connect with the other end of said hollow cylinder 40, whereby gases may find passageway through said pipes 37 and 39 into the interior of said hollow cylinder 40. t

lVithin said hollow cylinder 40 is disposed a ring packed piston 4l which is fixed on one end of a piston rod 42, which projects outwardly through the cylinder head 43 of the hollow cylinder 40, the outer end of saidpiston rod 42 being articulated with one end of a connecting rod 44 whose other end is articulated with a crank 45 that is associated with the driving shaft 35 which driving shaft 35 is rotatably mounted in bearings 46, as more clearly shown in Fig. 2.

Thus a rotation of the shaft 35 will cause the piston 41 to move back and forth within the cylinder 40 with the result that gases within the retort and within the pipes 37 and 39 alternately will be forced to fiow in opposite directions from one end to the other of said retort, thus thoroughly to mix with all of the different particles of ore within said retort.

In each of the pipes 37 and 39, at points adjacent to the unions 36 and 38, I have provided safety valves 47 and 48, respectively, which are merely indicated by two concentric circles but which may be of any of the well known forms of construction, such safety valves 47 and 4S serving automatically to relieve the retort of any excessive pressure of gases therein.

In order to permit the escape of any molten metal from the retort during the rotation thereof, I have provided a. pipe 49 whose end portion within the retort is curved, as more clearly shown in F ig. l, from the inner end of the hollow shaft 1l to the inner surface of the cylindrical wall 8, while its other end portion is disposed to project through the shaft ll and the wall of the union 36 into the interior of an airtight receptacle 50, as more clearly shown in Fig. 2, whereby a rotary motion of the retort, in the direction of the arrow in Fig. l, will cause the open end of the curved portion of the pipe 49 to pick up any molten metal as such curved portion in its rotary movement arrives at a point near the iregrate 5, and as such curved portion swings upwardly in its rotation through that portion of its path nearer the chimney of the furnace, then such molten metal, as lead or other metal having a low melting point, will flow through the pipe 49 into the airtight receptacle 50.

Since under some conditions of operation it may be desirable to heat the retort to a higher temperature than can be created by f the electrically heated wires 23, such desired higher temperature may be attained by building a fire on the firegrate 5, and under other conditions such fire alone may effect -a desired purpose, thus the retort may be heated by electricity or by fire or by the conjoint action of both electricity and fire as may be best under different conditions.

In the walls of the pipes 37 and 39, at points near the cylinder 40, I have provided observation glasses to be removed and replaced for the purpose of cleaning them and through which may be observed the move ment of the smoky gases within said pipes 37 and 39 during the operation of the piston 41, but such glasses 5l and 52 may be dispensed with since they are not absolutely necessary for the effective operation of my invention.

Fixed over the open ends of the hollow shafts ll and l2 within the interior of the retort are perforated disks 53 and 54, respectively, which Eserve to prevent small pieces of ore from entering the hollow pipes ll and 12, while such ore is agitated and rumbled by the rotation of the retort.

Fixed in the pipe 39 at a point near the observation glass 52 I have provided a nipple 55 to which is screwed a valve 56 that is provided with a nipple 57, whereby an airpump may be connected to said nipple 57 and upon opening the valve 56 such pump may exhaust air from the interior of the retort and its associated pipes after which the valve 56 may be closed, which operation is effected just after the retort is charged with ore and sealed preparatory to heating it.

The number of tubes 20, with their inclosed electrical heating member, may be increased to more than the three shown, as may seem desirable under different conditions of operation; and in cases where electricity alone is to be employed as a heating agent then the furnace structure may be dispensed with; able to employ as heating agents both electricity and fire simultaneously, and particularly where the operation of roasting is carried to such extent as to reduce the ore.

W'hen the retort is to be preferably, such ore is crushed to a granulated from and thoroughly mixed with granulated charcoal or other carbonaceous material, as for instance, wood sawdust, and then such mixture is introduced through the but in general it is preferi charged with ore,

doorway 17 into the retort until the retort is about two thirds or seven eighths full, and thereupon the doorv 18 is closed and sealed to be air tight, whereupon the air contained Within the retort and Within its associated pipes may be exhausted in the manner hereinbefore described after Which heat is applied to the retort and rotary motion is then communicated to the shaft 35 by some form of motor, not shown.

Obviously changes may be made in the forms, dimensions, and arrangement of different parts of my invention Without departing from the spirit thereof.

lVha-t I claim is:

1. The combination with a rotary furnace having hollow trunnions; of means for reciprocating fluid from end to end of the furnace comprising a reciprocating pump having its opposite ends in constant free and uninterrupted communication with the hollow trunnions, said pump having a solid piston reciprocable intermediate its ends, and

means to operate the pump and rotate the furnace simultaneously.

2. The combination With a rotary furnace having hollow trunnions; of means for reciprocating fluid from end to end of the furnace, comprising a reciprocatory pump including a cylinder, a pipe having free connection to one end of the cylinder and having swiveled connection to one trunnion, a second pipe having free connection to the remaining end of the cylinder and having` swiveled connection to the remaining` trunnion, said pump having a solid piston reciprocable intermediate its ends, and means to operate the pump and rotate the furnace simultaneously.

In Witness whereof, I, hereunto subscribe my name this eighteenth day of March, A.

GOTTVVERTH L. TANZER. Witnesses:

O. JOHNSON, E. G. CORWIN.

(Jopie: ot this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents` Washington. D. C. 

